In a conventional art, a location of a terminal is determined using a cellular network, and a location of a vehicle or human is determined using a Global Positioning System (GPS).
Currently, a method of determining a location using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band is being standardized by an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standardization working group. Also, a method of determining a location of a terminal or device using Ultra-wideband (UWB) of 2.4 GHz or 3.1˜4.8 GHz and 7.2˜10.2 GHz, based on a Korean national standard, has been standardized by IEEE 802.15.4a in August, 2007.
Also, Real Time Location System (RTLS) is being standardized using 950˜956 MHz band in an international standard of International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Although a positioning method using 60 GHz has not been standardized yet, 60 GHz band wireless communication is being standardized by IEEE 802.15.3c.
A positioning method using a cellular network performs a positioning process using triangulation, and thereby has an advantage such as significant coverage, and a disadvantage such as low precision.
Also, a positioning method using GPS may relatively precisely determine a location within an approximately 10 m error range. However, a GPS antenna is to be installed in a target terminal and a positioning is unavailable indoors, and thus the method may not be applied to an application for higher precision.
A positioning method using WLAN has an advantage such as a sufficient coverage of 20˜30 m and good infrastructure. However, since only 2.4˜2.480 GHz and 5.725˜5.825 GHz frequency band may be used, precision may not be improved due to the limited bandwidth.
Also, a positioning method using UWB is to use an Interference Avoidance technology at 3.1˜4.8 GHz based on Korean national standard, and allows extremely low output below −41.3 dBm/MHz at 3.1˜4.8 GHz and 7.2˜10.2 GHz bands. Accordingly, coverage is small. However, in IEEE 802.15.4a, precision is maintained to be within approximately 3 m.
In a positioning method using high-speed wireless communication using 60 GHz band, successive 7 GHz band may be used, for example, in 57˜64 GHz in Korea and North America, and 59˜66 GHz in Japan. Also, 10 mW maximum output per 1 MHz and an absolute gain of an antenna of below 17 dBi may be used.
A transmission technology of giga-sample/second is required to obtain positioning precision corresponding to several centimeters. For this, it is preferable that a 60 GHz band providing a successive UWB is used.
However, since coverage of a system using 60 GHz band is not greater than several tens of meters, a broad area may not be covered.
The above-described positioning methods in a conventional art are separately used, and thus user's needs for positioning precision and coverage are not satisfied.
Accordingly, a super fine positioning apparatus and method which sequentially or systemically joins a plurality of communication networks, and thereby may rapidly and accurately determine a location of a user terminal/target terminal with precision according to a user's request indoors and outdoors is required.